CARES

In this Weekly Digest:

• CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8 Recap | Registration Open for Stakeholder Briefing #9  
• CWS-CARES Prod Sim & Environment Status Update – 6/22/2026 
• Train-the-Trainer Enablement Kickoff Sessions Recap 
• CWS-CARES Data Dictionary Version 0.11 Now Available 
• The June 2026 Progress and Engagement Summary is Now Available
• CWS-CARES Environment for User Access: June 2026 Update
• CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: June 29, 2026 

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CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8 Recap | Registration Open for Stakeholder Briefing #9

CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8 – June 24, 2026:  

Thank you to everyone who attended CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8 on Wednesday, June 24, 2026! We were pleased to have 452 participants across 43 counties and over 5+ partner organizations join the session live. We received 53 questions during the session, which we are working to answer and share with you as soon as possible.  

The session recording is now available on the Stakeholder Webinar Materials | Child Welfare Digital Services page under Stakeholder Briefing #8. 

Please log in with your county or organization email address to view the recording. An accessible PDF of the presentation slides and a summary of the session Q&A will be available in the coming weeks in the same location.  

CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #9 – July 22, 2026:  

Registration is now open for the next CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing! We encourage you to attend Stakeholder Briefing #9 on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. Register now. Note: A separate calendar invitation will not be sent by the CWS-CARES Project. Please manually add the .ics attachment in the registration confirmation email to your calendar.  

All stakeholders impacted by the changes to CWS-CARES are welcome to attend. Updates will include:  

• Production Simulation 
  • Preparations for onboarding 
  • Available Functionality 
  • Status of environment fixes  
• Implementation & Training  

View the full agenda on CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #9: July 2026. We hope to see you on July 22, 2026!  

Please contact Customer Relations at CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov with any questions. 

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CWS-CARES Prod Sim & Environment Status Update – 6/22/2026 

The CWS-CARES Project distributed an important update on June 22, 2026 regarding the status of the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (Prod Sim, or CARES 100) and other environments as the project tracks toward CWS-CARES Version 1 (CARES V1) Go-Live on October 26, 2026. 

The update includes a detailed living document outlining the current capabilities, limitations, and system status as of June 22 for Prod Sim and other environments. The document covers: 

• Known & Expected Issues, Current System Behavior: Highlights of known and expected issues, and current system behaviors users might encounter, focusing primarily on data-related issues. 
• Resolved Issues: A summary of resolved bugs and defects. Users should report these if any unexpected behavior persists within these specific areas. 
• Open/Reported Issues, Capabilities Not Available on June 22: A generalized overview of current Prod Sim issues classified by subject area; please note this does not represent the entirety of all reported active issues. 
• Forms Status: A dedicated status update on the readiness and functionality of project forms. 
• Environment Specifications 

Please note that the document is a living resource and will be updated regularly, with the next updates scheduled for July 6 and August 4. 

For the full update and attached documents, visit the CWS-CARES Prod Sim & Environment Status Update – 6/22/2026 page on the CWDS website. 

Please contact Customer Relations for questions: CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov. 

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Train-the-Trainer Enablement Kickoff Sessions Recap 

On June 17, 2026, the CWS-CARES Project hosted two Train‑the‑Trainer (TTT) Enablement Kickoff sessions, welcoming 650+ attendees across both sessions. Participants reviewed the purpose of TTT Enablement, learned how to log into the Training Environment (CARES 104), viewed a live demonstration of the Enablement Programs, and received an overview of the support model that will be available to trainers in the coming weeks.  

About Train-the-Trainer Enablement 

TTT is designed to provide county trainers and key staff early access and hands‑on practice with CWS-CARES before formal training begins. This preparation is delivered through Enablement Programs, which are built‑in, on‑screen training guides within CARES that walk users through real workflows using step‑by‑step instructions. This approach helps trainers build confidence and ensures organizations are well-equipped to support their teams.  

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CWS-CARES Data Dictionary Version 0.11 Now Available 

CWS-CARES Data Dictionary V0.11 is now available on the Microsoft Teams Channel: CARES Data Dictionary under the “Shared” tab as of Monday, June 29, 2026. Check the Intro tab of the CWS-CARES Data Dictionary for the detailed list of updates included in the new version. 

Here are some highlights for the updates: 

• Added New Data Usage column to the Columns tab to improve visibility into field usage. 
• Renamed the Length Notation tab to Additional Information. 

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The June 2026 Progress and Engagement Summary is Now Available

The CWS-CARES Progress and Engagement Summaries provide a concise overview of the collaborative efforts and achievements of CWS-CARES. The June Progress and Engagement Summary  features engagement analytics for the May 2026 reporting period across the following subject areas: 

• Project Communications 
• Stakeholder Briefing #7 – May 2026 
• Forms and Data 
• External Systems, Interfaces, and Analytics 
• Implementation, OCM, and Training Activities 
• Production Simulation 

View all CWS-CARES Progress and Engagement Summaries on the CWDS website: CWS_CARES_Progress_and_Engagement_Updates. 

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CWS-CARES Environment for User Access: June 2026 Update

The CWS-CARES Project has published an updated overview of system environments as of June 2026. The CWS-CARES Environments for User Access: June 2026 Update provides a point-in-time overview of system environments, including their purpose, access, and availability, to support testing, training, and readiness activities ahead of Go-Live.  

This resource is available on the CWS-CARES User Resources of the CWDS website.  

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CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: June 29, 2026 

This week, the CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight features the CWS-CARES Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) of the Week.

June 29, 2026 FAQ of the Week: 

Q: Who will be responsible for adding users to the FFPSA and RFA portals?

A: The County Administrator will be responsible for adding county users to county FFPSA and RFA portals.

To view all of the CWS-CARES FAQs, please visit the CWDS website: CWS-CARES FAQs | CWDS Website.

Have a question? Send it to Customer Relations and we will be happy to help.

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Share Your Feedback and Subscribe 

Thank you for following our progress! Share your feedback on this CWS-CARES Weekly Digest here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Feedback Form. Subscribe to future issues here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Subscription Form.

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Action Required:  We request that all CWS-CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CWS-CARES Weekly Digest to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES, at their discretion.

CARES SPOCs, CARES Technical Contacts, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:

We are sharing an important update regarding the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (Prod Sim) and other environments as we track toward our CWS-CARES Version 1 Go-Live on October 26, 2026.

CWS-CARES Prod Sim (CARES 100) will be continuously enhanced with planned, coordinated releases leading up to the October Go-Live. The final CWS-CARES V1 Production environment will reflect the latest code deployed in Prod Sim; consequently, Prod Sim's exact features will evolve over the coming months.

A primary objective of Prod Sim is to validate system functionality in place of a traditional pilot, ensuring that the statewide deployment of CWS-CARES maintains our commitment to child safety. Prod Sim provides the most accurate, up-to-date representation of the system available. We recommend that organizations actively utilize Prod Sim to support readiness and enable staff to test and validate. Please note that while Prod Sim reflects the core design, we are continuously fixing defects ahead of launch. Detailed communications will be shared by July 6 to outline the exact features and fixes included in the V1 release versus those scheduled for post-Go-Live.

Attached to this email is a detailed document outlining the current capabilities, limitations, and system status as of June 22, 2026, for CWS-CARES Prod Sim and other environments. This resource is designed to provide clarity on what to expect, what has changed, and how to understand the current system behavior.

Please note that the attachment is a living document. We will refresh this framework regularly, with the next updates scheduled for July 6 and August 4.

The attached document covers:

Prod Sim

1. June 22^nd User Onboarding & Objectives: An overview of the June 22 Production Simulation onboarding group, their designated objectives, and the schedule for subsequent July onboarding. This includes a summary of the adjustments made to the original onboarding requests and the plan forward.
2. Known & Expected Issues, Current System Behavior: Highlights of known and expected issues, and current system behaviors users might encounter, focusing primarily on data-related issues.
3. Resolved Issues: A summary of resolved bugs and defects. Users should report these if any unexpected behavior persists within these specific areas.
4. Open/Reported Issues, Capabilities Not Available on June 22: A generalized overview of current Prod Sim issues classified by subject area; please note this does not represent the entirety of all reported active issues.
5. Forms Status: A dedicated status update on the readiness and functionality of project forms.

Environment Specifications

• We are sharing information on the current operational status and specifications of the CWS-CARES environments including the configuration, data sets, access rights, and feature availability.

We acknowledge how critical these environment insights are to your planning, and we remain fully committed to partnering with you to ensure a smooth transition. We will continue to keep you informed with our next update scheduled for July 6. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to preparing your teams for the V1 Go-Live.

Action Required

No action is required.

Please contact Customer Relations for questions: CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov

ALL SPOCs, Technical Contacts and CAD Contacts:

The California Department of Technology (CDT) has scheduled maintenance of the SAFE Cloud service. The maintenance begins on Saturday, June 27, 2026, at 8:00 PM and concludes on Sunday, June 28, 2026, at 2:00 AM. The activity will cause interruptions in the SAFE Cloud service. Some Business Objects (BO) reports will fail to send, or automated scripts may fail to retrieve from SAFE during this scheduled maintenance.

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Action Required

All users should logoff of the SAFE Cloud service prior to the start of the stated maintenance timeframe. Please check on your scheduled BO SAFE reports and automated FTP scripts. If needed, re-run the reports and scripts.

Contact the IBM Help Desk (800-428-8268) to report any issues with your Business Objects content in SAFE.

All Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:

The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Friday, June 19, 2026, beginning at 6:00 AM and concluding at 8:00 AM. During the maintenance window, the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process will be accessible for pilot counties Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara. However, document related functionality will not be accessible.

Action Required

No action required from end-users during this maintenance window.

If users experience any issues with the CWS-CARES, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CWS-CARES County Administrators may contact the CARES Service Desk through the CWDS ServiceNow Customer Support Management (CSM) Portal. Alternate methods are phoning 1-855-292-3444 or via email at Servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov during normal business hours. You may also email after hours, and a Service Desk representative will contact you the next business day.

All Pilot County RFA Implementation Coordinators and SPOCs:

The CWS-CARES team has scheduled maintenance activity for the CWS-CARES production environment for Monday, June 22, 2026, beginning at 5:00 PM and concluding at 8:00 PM. During the maintenance window, the CWS-CARES Resource Family Approval (RFA) Application Submission, Review, and Approval Process will be accessible for pilot counties Fresno, Placer, and Santa Clara.

During the maintenance window, document related functionality in the CARES application will not be accessible.

Action Required

No action required from end-users during this maintenance window.

If users experience any issues with the CWS-CARES, please follow your county process for reporting issues. CWS-CARES County Administrators may contact the CARES Service Desk through the CWDS ServiceNow Customer Support Management (CSM) Portal. Alternate methods are phoning 1-855-292-3444 or via email at Servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov during normal business hours. You may also email after hours, and a Service Desk representative will contact you the next business day.  

CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:

In this Weekly Digest:

• CWS-CARES Production Simulation Revised Dates & Key Details - 6/12/2026
• Action Required: CWS-CARES Technical Readiness Resource Document Update
• Reminder: Nine (9) Days Left to Register for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8
• CWS-CARES Data and Technical Contacts
• CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: June 15, 2026

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CWS-CARES Production Simulation Revised Dates & Key Details - 6/12/2026

Following the June 5, 2026 communication regarding the postponement of the Production Simulation (Prod Sim) launch, the CWS-CARES Project distributed an update on Friday, June 12, 2026 providing revised dates and key details for Prod Sim and related environments through CWS-CARES Version 1 (CARES V1) Go-Live on October 26, 2026.  

Prod Sim Environment – Revised Dates 

• June 22, 2026: Counties begin hands-on validation of converted legacy data 

• July 6, 2026: Additional county users join testing; Self-Paced Training curriculum and the ability to run forms, reports, and extracts will be available 

• August 3, 2026: Prod Sim access opens for all 25,000 CWS/CMS users through Go-Live on October 26, 2026. 

• September 26, 2026: ‘Sealed & Sensitive’ cases and referrals will be added to Prod Sim 

Other Environments – Revised Dates 

• June 15, 2026: The V1 Readiness (EUST 3) Environment will be decommissioned to migrate interface connections for upcoming training 

• June 15 – August 7, 2026: New IBM-converted CWS/CMS forms will be available in County Forms Development Environment 102 on a rolling basis for county testing and validation 

• June 16, 2026: Training Environment (CARES 104) opens for Train-the-Trainer (TTT) staff to begin perquisite training 

For full details, refer to the email sent by Customer Relations on Friday, June 12, 2026 at 4:08 PM with the subject: CWS-CARES Production Simulation Revised Dates & Key Details – 6/12/2026. 

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Action Required: CWS-CARES Technical Readiness Resource Document Update

The CWS-CARES Implementation team distributed an updated Technical Readiness Resource document on June 5, 2026, to CARES Implementation Coordinators and Implementation Technical Coordinators. Updates in this version include changes to processor hardware requirements, software requirements, and secondary workstation and remote VPN URLs.  

Action Required: Please complete the updated Technical Readiness Resource CARES V1 – June 2026 Update document and return it to your assigned Implementation Lead no later than June 26, 2026. 

For full details and instructions, refer to the email sent by the OTSI CWDS Implementation team on Friday, June 5, 2026, at 4:53 PM with the subject: Action Required: CARES Technical Readiness Resource Document Update (due no later than June 26, 2026). 

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Reminder: Nine (9) Days Left to Register for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8

Thank you to the 230+ stakeholders who have already registered for the next Stakeholder Briefing on Wednesday, June 24, 2026! If you’ve not yet registered, we encourage you to attend the live webinar on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM. All stakeholders impacted by the changes to CWS-CARES are welcome to attend, ask questions, and hear updates from Project leadership. 

Register now at: CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8 | Registration. Note: A separate calendar invitation will not be sent by the CWS-CARES Project. Please manually add the .ics attachment in the registration confirmation email to your calendar. 

The full agenda for the June 2026 Stakeholder Briefing is available to view on the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8 Registration page. Updates will include: 

• Project Status Update 

• Preparing for Production Simulation 

• Production Simulation Demo 

• Training 

• Organizational Change Management (OCM) 

Thank you for participating in our Stakeholder Briefing webinar series! We hope to see you on June 24, 2026 to continue the conversation on the upcoming transition to CWS-CARES. 

New Resources Now Available on the CWDS Website 

The following resources are now available on the Stakeholder Webinar Materials | Child Welfare Digital Services page on the CWDS website: 

• Stakeholder Briefing #7 Presentation Slides 

• Stakeholder Briefing # 7 Q&A 

• Stakeholder Briefing #6 Q&A – Update 

View all past content and dates for all upcoming CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefings in 2026 on the Stakeholder Briefings and Webinars page on the CWDS website. 

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CWS-CARES Data and Technical Contacts

As CWS-CARES approaches Go-Live, counties and organizations may have questions across a range of data and technical topics. The following contacts can assist with specific CWS-CARES topics and questions: 

• Data Conversion or Converted Data: Data Conversions Workgroup – OSICWDSDataConversion@otsi.ca.gov  

• Data Dictionary, Field Definitions, Data Types, Field Lengths, Data Mapping, or SqlDBM Access: Data Management Team – CWDSDataManagement@otsi.ca.gov 

• Data Extracts: Data Extracts Workgroup – OTSICWDSCARESDataExtracts@otsi.ca.gov  

• Forms: Forms Workgroup – OTSICWDSCARESForms@otsi.ca.gov  

• Functional or Business Process Questions: Product Delivery Lead (PDL) Team – CARESPDL@otsi.ca.gov  

• Reports, Dashboards, or Tableau: CWDS Analytics Transition (CAT) Workgroup – OSICWDSAnalyticsTransition@otsi.ca.gov  

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CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: June 15, 2026

This week, the CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight features the CWS-CARES Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) of the Week. 

June 15, 2026 FAQ of the Week:  

Q: Is DocuEdge single sign-on? 

A: Yes. DocuEdge supports Single Sign-On (SSO) within CWS-CARES. DocuEdge functionality is accessed directly through the CWS-CARES interface, and users do not need to sign in separately to DocuEdge. 

To view all of the CWS-CARES FAQs, please visit the CWDS website: CWS-CARES FAQs | CWDS Website. 

Have a question? Send it to Customer Relations at CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov and we will be happy to help. 

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Share Your Feedback and Subscribe 

Thank you for following our progress! Share your feedback on this CWS-CARES Weekly Digest here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Feedback Form. Subscribe to future issues here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Subscription Form.

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Action Required:  We request that all CWS-CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CWS-CARES Weekly Digest to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES, at their discretion.

CARES SPOCs, CARES Technical Contacts, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:

Following up on our communication from June 5, 2026 regarding the postponement of the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (Prod Sim) environment, we are providing an update on what to expect over the next five months, specifically for Prod Sim user access, key features, data, and related environments leading up to our October 2026 Go-Live.

The Prod Sim Environment – Revised Dates & Key Details

1. June 22, 2026: Counties begin hands-on validation of converted legacy data using subject matter experts and end users to verify data accuracy, business functionality, and readiness for expanded statewide testing.

• 'Sealed & Sensitive' cases and referrals are temporarily removed from Prod Sim.
• All CWS-CARES Version 1 (V1) interfaces will be available.

2. July 6, 2026: Additional county users join testing while teams begin validating backend functions, including reports, forms, and data extracts, to ensure the system is performing as expected before go-live.

• The planned Self-Paced Training curriculum will be available.
• The ability to run forms, reports, and extracts will be available.
• In a forthcoming communication, there will be additional details on the number of users and role prioritization to assist counties with determining who will participate.

3. August 3, 2026: Prod Sim access opens for all 25,000 CWS/CMS users.

• Users continue their use of Prod Sim until CWS-CARES V1 Go-Live on October 26, 2026.

4. September 26, 2026: ‘Sealed & Sensitive’ cases and referrals will be added to Prod Sim.

Other Environments – Dates & Key Details

1. June 15, 2026: The V1 Readiness (EUST 3) Environment will be decommissioned at 8AM to migrate interface connections for upcoming training. 

• This will impact interfaces such as Case Management Assessment (CMA), Structured Decision Making (SDM), CalSAWS Foster Care Eligibility Determination (FCED), Juvenile Network (JNET), and potentially others.
• V1 Readiness Environment users who are neither trainers nor granted access to the County Forms Development Environment will be onboarded to the Prod Sim environment according to the timeline above.

2. June 15 – August 7, 2026: The new IBM-converted CWS/CMS forms will be available in County Forms Development Environment 102 on a rolling basis as they are developed for testing and validation by counties.

• During planned outages, these forms will be available in the Prod Sim environment and migration of those documents will begin on July 6, 2026.

3. June 16, 2026: Training Environment 104 opens for Train-the-Trainer (TTT) staff to start their prerequisite training.

• County-identified users will begin to receive onboarding emails on June 12, 2026.

We acknowledge how critical these changes are for organizations, and that they have a direct impact on your readiness activities. We are dedicated to delivering on our commitments and working with you in partnership towards CWS-CARES V1 Go-Live on October 26, 2026. We will be providing forthcoming communication in the coming weeks that will outline in much greater detail the remaining critical dates, delivery of system or functionality fixes, and any outstanding items that will require workarounds until functionality can be fixed post Go-Live.

Please contact Customer Relations for questions: CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov

CARES SPOCs, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:

Please note that while a Weekly Digest was not originally scheduled for this week in observance of Memorial Day, we received last-minute communications that warranted distribution. We appreciate your continued attention and flexibility. 

In this Weekly Digest:

• CWS-CARES Role Based Training Curriculum
• Now Available: CWS-CARES Communication Effectiveness Survey #3 Results Summary
• Coming Soon Enhanced CWDS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Registration Now Open for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8
• CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: June 8, 2026

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CWS-CARES Role Based Training Curriculum

Following the May 22, 2026 update on the CWS-CARES Training Strategy, Customer Relations distributed a communication on June 3, 2026 sharing the CWS-CARES Version 1 (CARES V1) Role Based Training Curriculum and next steps. The communication includes:

• The Instructor-Led Training (ILT) curriculum for county, state, and specialized program staff
• A Self-Paced Learning Release Plan for Salesforce Enablement training in the Production Simulation environment
• An update on Biweekly Implementation Meetings

Action Required: To prepare for Train-the-Trainer (TTT) beginning June 15, ensure trainers and Super Users understand the schedule and remind staff to complete foundational Salesforce Enablement training prior to attending TTT sessions.

For full details, refer to the email sent by Customer Relations on Tuesday, June 3, 2026 at 5:17 PM with the subject: CWS-CARES Role Based Training Curriculum – June 3, 2026.

Please contact OTSICWDSTraining@otsi.ca.gov with any questions regarding the curriculum or scheduling, or Customer Relations at CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov with any general questions.

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Now Available: CWS-CARES Communication Effectiveness Survey #3 Results Summary

The results of the third annual CWS-CARES Communication Effectiveness Survey are now available. Conducted March 9 to April 3, 2026, this confidential survey assessed how well CWS-CARES communications are informing and supporting key stakeholders and identified opportunities for improvement.

The results summary includes:

• Survey demographics and response rates across 58 counties
• Weighted average scores for communication helpfulness across key CWS-CARES channels, including the Weekly Digest, CWS-CARES Explorer, and Progress & Engagement Summary
• Current sentiment responses across six categories, including clear and useful communications, confidence on project timeline, and concerns and feedback acknowledged
• Average sentiment trends across all three surveys from 2024 to 2026
• Contributing factors to sentiment trends and recommended action plans for improvement

To view the full results, please see the attached file titled "CWS-CARES Communication Effectiveness Survey #3 - Results Summary - April 2006.”

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Coming Soon Enhanced CWDS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The CWS-CARES Project is preparing to update the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the CWDS website to make it easier for organizations to find the information they need in one centralized location.

We heard that CWS-CARES information can be difficult to track when questions and responses are shared across multiple meetings, forums, and communications channels. To help address this, the updated FAQ webpage will include hundreds of new questions and answers, improved categories aligned with CWS-CARES Project areas, and meeting tags to help you identify where topics were discussed.

We will share an update in a future CWS-CARES Weekly Digest when these enhancements are available on the CWDS website.

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Registration Now Open for CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8

We encourage you to attend the next CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing on Wednesday, June 24, 2026! Register now at: CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8 | Registration. Note: A separate calendar invitation will not be sent by the CWS-CARES Project. Please manually add the .ics attachment in the registration confirmation email to your calendar.

All stakeholders impacted by the changes to CWS-CARES are welcome to attend, ask questions, and hear updates from Project leadership. The full agenda for the June 2026 Stakeholder Briefing is available to view on the CWS-CARES Stakeholder Briefing #8 | Registration page. Updates will include:

• Project Status Update
• Preparing for Production Simulation
• Production Simulation Demo
• Training
• Organizational Change Management (OCM)

Thank you for participating in our Stakeholder Briefing webinar series!  We hope to see you on June 24, 2026 to continue the conversation on the upcoming transition to CWS-CARES.

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CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight: June 8, 2026

This week, the CWS-CARES Functionality Spotlight features the CWS-CARES Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) of the Week.

June 8, 2026 FAQ of the Week: 

Q: Will converted documents from CWS/CMS to CWS-CARES be in the same format they were originally saved in, or will they be converted to a standard format?

A: Yes, documents converted from CWS/CMS to CWS-CARES will retain their original file formats. The conversion process preserves the document format as stored in CWS/CMS rather than converting documents into a standardized format.

To view all of the CWS-CARES FAQs, please visit the CWDS website: CWS-CARES FAQs | CWDS Website.

Have a question? Send it to Customer Relations at CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov and we will be happy to help.

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Share Your Feedback and Subscribe 

Thank you for following our progress! Share your feedback on this CWS-CARES Weekly Digest here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Feedback Form. Subscribe to future issues here: CWS-CARES Weekly Digest Subscription Form.

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Action Required:  We request that all CWS-CARES Single Point of Contacts (SPOCs) and Implementation Coordinators coordinate and distribute the CWS-CARES Weekly Digest to all staff impacted by CWS-CARES, at their discretion.

CARES SPOCs, Technical Contacts, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:

We are writing to provide an important update regarding the upcoming launch of the CWS-CARES Production Simulation (Prod Sim) environment, which was previously scheduled for June 8, 2026. 

To ensure that your organizations have access to a stable, functional environment to simulate your business processes, we have made the decision to postpone the June 8th launch.  We understand this change affects your go-live preparation activities, and we are partnering closely with CWDA, CPOC, and county leadership to address and mitigate these impacts.  

Our team is actively troubleshooting and resolving critical system issues. Key priorities include refining role-based access controls to guarantee that sealed cases are restricted to authorized staff, and correcting functionality defects within the person and provider search tools. We are working diligently through these technical areas to establish a revised and realistic Production Simulation launch date. 

Key Impacts 

• Prod Sim Kickoff Meetings will be rescheduled to align with the new timeline. 
• The Phase 2 timeline, specifically the July 6th target to open Prod Sim access to all users – is currently under evaluation. 

We deeply appreciate your patience and ongoing partnership throughout this transition as we maintain our shared commitment to the safety and well-being of children and families. To prevent the risk of further changes in timelines, we will establish a new Production Simulation launch date when we are confident the code updates and data transfers are complete, rather than committing to a timeline before we have that confidence.  

The state and county leaders will convene on Tuesday, June 9th to further discuss the next steps that are critical to continuing progress and will provide a revised Prod Sim launch date by June 12, 2026. 

Please contact Customer Relations for questions: CWS_CustRel@otsi.ca.gov

Action Required

No action is required.

CARES SPOCs, Technical Contacts, Implementation Coordinators, OCM Coordinators, Training Coordinators, County Leadership, Tribe Leadership, Probation Leadership, and State Leadership:

Following our May 22, 2026, update regarding the CWS-CARES Training Strategy, we are sharing two attachments detailing the CWS-CARES Version 1 (CARES V1) Role Based Training Curriculum and next steps.

The attached document outlines the updated Instructor-Led Training (ILT) curriculum for CARES V1, featuring in-person and virtual sessions tailored for county, state, and specialized program staff. The curriculum is broken down into distinct courses—ranging from 1 to 6 hours in duration—covering critical business areas such as Screenings & Referrals, Placement, Case Management Services, Courts, Eligibility, Adoptions, Prevention Services (FFPSA), Resource Family Approval, Financial Management, Admin Console, and Probation. Each module provides targeted learning objectives, role-specific alignment, and course maps to prepare staff for CARES V1.

Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, this role-based structure ensures that staff members receive training tailored directly to the functions and workflows they will use in CARES V1.

To support your preparation, we are also sharing a Self-Paced Learning Release Plan for Salesforce Enablement, the built-in tool that allows staff to create, assign, and track interactive training in CWS-CARES. This plan outlines the upcoming on-demand courses and their scheduled release dates for the Production Simulation (Prod Sim) environment. Additional courses may be added as development progresses to provide even more learning opportunities.

Implementation Meeting Update & Train-the-Trainer (TTT) Prep

Based on organization feedback to improve efficiency and time spent in meetings, the Biweekly Implementation Meetings have been canceled. Implementation related updates will continue to be shared in existing forums such as the Monthly Org Readiness Meetings, OCM Advisory Workgroup, TIPS, the County Advisory Committee - CAC (to be added to the CAC meeting series please email cwscaresprodsimcac@otsi.ca.gov), and Stakeholder Briefings as currently scheduled.

To prepare for Train-the-Trainer (TTT) from June 15 through mid-August, ensure that your trainers understand the schedule of activities and plan accordingly, and remind staff to complete their foundational, self-paced online Salesforce Enablement training before they attend the TTT sessions.

Action Required

Please contact OTSICWDSTraining@otsi.ca.gov if you have any questions regarding the curriculum or scheduling.